Costa Rica

[Supafly]

I may be going to Costa Rica in about a month. I will be going with three conventional guys. But I definitely want to catch at least one Sail on the flyrod. Are there any good sites I should check out for tackle and flies?

Also has anyone done any surfishing down there? How good is it? I would like to throw some plugs for Rooster fish and Jacks in the surf if possible.

[widdoes]

Supa- an old high-school friend of my runs a charter operation in Costa Rica called "On the Fly". Haven't fished with him, but he did catch a recomendation in Fly Fisherman mag a while back. Do a search for Jeremy Librett and "On the Fly".
Not much, but it's a start.
-Good luck,
Wild John

PM me if you need more info.

[Supafly]

Does anyone know any good books on big game flyfishing or more specifically flyfishing for billfish.

[hydroTechNoCrat]

Where in Costa Rica are you going?

I found plenty of Jacks in the surf but not much else. I found many more fish--snook, spanish macks etc, in a bay/marina area behind my hotel.

[Vic T]

"Bluewater Flyfishing" by Trey Coombs is excellent.

[albacized]

Where in Costa Rica are you going?

I found plenty of Jacks in the surf but not much else. I found many more fish--snook, spanish macks etc, in a bay/marina area behind my hotel.

Do they catch pacific bonito or black skipjact (close relative to false albacore) from shore down there? I know that from a boat, they are common....

[Supafly]

Cool I just ordered "Bluewater flyfishing". I am not sure where I might be going yet. But I would love to hear more about the DIY fishing while I am not out on a boat.

[Vic T]

If you are on the Osa Peninsula (and maybe elsewhere too), be careful fishing around the mouths of any rivers, or if you cross any rivers. There are saltwater crocodiles and bull sharks in many of these river estuaries. The locals don't go near this kind of water.

[Supafly]

Looks like I am going to Quepos on March 7th till the 14th. How is the billfishing usually then? Are the seas pretty calm there? Also are there any shore fishing oportunities in this area?

Anything you can think of I should bring I appreciate it.

[Guy]

Widdoes, On Jan 26, I fished with the boat "On the Fly", operating out of Quepos. It was not being run by Jeremy Librett. The new Tica owner still uses the same brochure with Jeremy, but the crew is new, young (and eager), but haven't as much experience yet when it comes to billfishing "on the fly".

Supafly, the seas should be good at that time and so should the sailfishing. There are lots of boats at Quepos. Finding a good boat (fly savy crew) is going to be the sticker. Most of the better boats are booked several months in advance though they do sometimes have the odd open date. Nearly all of the boats claim to be experienced with fly fishing but there is huge difference between trolling a fly and "doing it right!" However if you just want to catch a sailfish and not concerned about how you do it (hey, there is nothing wrong with that) you will have more choices.

I did post a trip report on this board a few days ago about fishing out of Quepos, (just in case you haven't seen it yet) and feel free to email me for more specific info.

Guy

[Supafly]

We have something booked. I just dont know who yet. My girlfriends Dad is friends with a guy who runs a fishing operation down there. I do not wanna troll with the fly I wanna do it the right way.

[Supafly]

What is the town of Quepos like?

[Guy]

Supafly, I really liked Quepos, it has a "reel" fishing town feel to it. Check out El Gran Escape after the boats come in for the day. That's were a lot of captains, crew members and anglers hang out. I kept half expecting to see Earnest Hemmingway walk in!

For other activities, Manio Antonio is "just over the hill" if you or family want beach, monkerys and touist traps. No real large scale development (like the "over the top" Los Suenos yet), rather a bunch of "budget to fair priced" hotel type accomodations right in Quepos itself and a whole bunch of eco-resort type places all along the road to Manio Antonio where you can spend a lot more on accomodation if you want a view.

Trey Combs has a highly recommended book out on flyfishing for billfish. Right now it's still in hardcover and pretty pricey, but a new paperback version is soon to be released (if it hasn't been already). My Amazon order for the book has an early March shipping date. Jack Samson has a book called "Billfish on a Fly". It was published in the mid 90's so some of the information on tackle and maybe even destinations may be a bit outdated, but the techniques for raising, teasing, hooking and fighting biilfish haven't changed.

Hope this helps.

Guy

[Supafly]

Yeah I just found out we are staying at www.tulemar.com . Looks really nice and there looks like some decent water I could hit from a kayak. My only concern is if its legal to fish there.

I dont know the name of the boat we are fishing on but I do know they were recently in a fly tournament. That makes me feel a little better. Hopefully they know how to do the fly thing.

I cannot wait!!

[golden]

You are going to be psyched. Tulemar bungaloes are very nice. i stayed there a few years back, and definately go to El Gran Escape, if for only the beers and fishy atmosphere. i fished with capt. Bryce Blair, out of Quepos, raising about 5 sails, 1 blue marlin, and also saw a large hammerhead. landed 2 sails 100 & 80 lbs. also, a 25 lb. mahi, which was cooked at the depot restaraunt on the outskirts of Quepos. It was actually a slow day on the water. a bit about Quepos, it's like a little city, but head along the coast either way and you're in the tropics. plenty of surfcasting areas; but if you can get near a rivermouth, or some good surf near rocks, you'll have a shot at a rooster, and snook. i caught both, the snook on a crystal minnow (up to 32"), the rooster on top with a 2.5 oz. mackeral pencil popper (might've been a gibbs). watch out for crocs, that is true; but don't worry too much, just don't goin the water at the rivers. the surf is fine, and warm. there should be large jacks, roosters, etc... bring topwaters, rangers, etc... i went with the whole family, and there's lots to do also. this was in april. one other thing. bring plenty of 30 SUNSCREEN. i don't burn easy; but i got cooked when i went surfcasting.
good luck, i'm jealous.
p.s. the surfcasting i did was south of Quepos, and i asked some local fisherman about possible areas. it wasn't that far; but if you get a map, you should be all set to find the hotspots. :-%

[Supafly]

Nice sounds good. I cant wait!

Golden- Did you fish on the beach at tulemar? How fishy is that area? I dont know that Ill have time to check many other places out. I also have to figure out what surf rod to bring. I dont have many 2 piece rods.

I am pretty sure I am fishing on one of these boats for 4 days.



http://www.gooddayteam.com/

[golden]

i didn't fish the beach at tulemar. when we stayed there, the red tide was in a few spots, and the bay where their beach is was one of the spots. it's not very big; but looked fishy enough. i bet there's big snook in there. i didn't spend a lot of time there; but there is manuel antonio park not far from there. that would be real good; but it's very popular, and will be crowded with beach goers. that being said, if you ventured down the beach a ways from the park, you'll probably be in a good spot for surfcasting. i brought a 10 foot 2 piece spinning rod, with a penn 6500ss loaded with 20 lb. a 9 footer would've been okay too. i found my way to one beach, where i could see down the beach a couple miles, and didn't see anyone.

[juanito_1]

Supafly,
I was in that area in 2000 and you'll find any attempt to fish in the national park will be prohibited. Having said that you'll find lots of beach to go at north of the park entrance but be careful of the surf. I saw roosters in the surf there but wasn't equipped to deal with them at the time. I've since geared up to target them, you'll need a 9-10' rod with enough backbone to toss a 2oz lure at least a hundred yards. Pencil poppers & rangers are the lures of choice but whatever you use make sure you crank them back at lightspeed, a gentle pop just doesn't cut it. The strikes can be spectacular, like topwater bassing but magnified about ten times !
I also fished south of there at Dominical, snook were the targets there but I'm sure there are roosters to be had too. The locals target them at the mouth of the river there & they have a pretty active fishing club.
Buena suerte & PM me if you want more info.
John

[billfishing]

I would recommend Cam Sigler pink and white tube flies and his 14 weight rods are inexpensive. We use his equipment along with others here in Guatemala. By the way, to plug Sailfish Bay Lodge in Guatemala, we had 2 anglers in Jan that caught sailfish on 20lb tippet that were well over the official IGFA record of 130lbs. But we can not kill the sails here so we can't claim IGFA records.

[smoof]

Hello all ~

I hope you don't mind me jumping in and asking a few questions since I will be very close to Puerto Rico on the island of Vieques this November. Although I have not made the "jump" to flyfishing as of yet, I look forward to fishing in this area. Growing up in Florida with a Penn reel strapped to my bike every saturday morning headed to the beach, I can't wait for another great fishing day since I now live in Atlanta, GA. -

My preference is snook, trout, redfish, grouper but I'm game for just about anything while I am there. I'll want to find a guide for a few days but the rest of the time my hope is to fish from shore with 12-20lb test and artificials. I would appreciate any input you might have across the board (line color, lure types, colors, styles, locations)... You name it and I'll certainly use it during my trip.

Thank to all in advance and thank you for this great forum as I plan to participate now that I have found it...

Regards and Best Wishes,

Robert Pressley
Atlanta, GA

[juanito_1]

Robert,
Check your atlas, this thread is about Costa Rica, not Puerto Rico............................. ;)

[Supafly]

I am leaving next tuesday. Does anyone know a site to get fishing reports for the Quepos area? I heard a report that it was slow last week. I am hoping things pick up. Thanks for all of your input. I am extremely excited!

[widdoes]

Supa- the G'day team has a report on their site- things appear to be improving (Moon phase baby!). Please, please, PLEASE bring back some cool pics for us who are freezing our tookases (tooki?).
The surf rooster action is almost identical to bluefishing- find some fairly choppy water (rip, rivermouth, sand bar...) and rip a surface plug across the top as fast as you can and Katy Bar the Door! Flyfishing can be very difficult because the fly doesn't move fast enough.

Guy- thanks for the update on Jeremy Librett and On The Fly.

Go get 'em, Supa!
-WJ

[Supafly]

Thanks for the help. I will definitely post pictures. I cant wait. Its been my dream to catch a sailfish on a fly.

[Supafly]

Im leaving tommorrow morning. Ill be back with pictures next week!

Can anyone reccomend a good restaurant in Quepos or Manuel Antonio?

[Guy]

El Gran Escape in Quepos...... For a fisherman there really is no other place!

I wish I was going with you. Enjoy CR and Tight Lines!

Guy